This Island Earth
This Island Earth is a 1955 American science fiction film directed by Joseph M. Newman. It is based on the novel of the same name by Raymond F. Jones. The film stars Jeff Morrow as the alien Exeter, Faith Domergue as Dr. Ruth Adams, and Rex Reason as Dr. Cal Meacham. The film was one of the first major science fiction films to be made in Technicolor. In 1996, This Island Earth was edited down and lampooned in the film Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. When initially released, the film was praised by critics, who cited the special effects, well-written script and eye-popping color (prints by Technicolor) as being its major assets. "Whit". Review from Variety dated March 30, 1955, taken from Variety's Complete Science Fiction Reviews, pg. 107, edited by Don Willis, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1985. ISBN 0-8240-6263-9 The film was one of the last films to use the three-strip Technicolor filming process. Even during production, the film's special effects were shot on the more conventional Eastman color process, which most studios had already adopted. Plot Dr. Cal Meacham, a noted scientist, receives an unusual substitute for electronic condensers that he ordered. Instead, he receives instructions and parts to build a complex communication device called an interocitor. Although neither Meacham nor his assistant Joe Wilson have heard of the device, they immediately begin construction. When finished, a mysterious man named Exeter appears on the interocitor's screen and tells Meacham he has passed the test. His ability to build the interocitor demonstrates that he is gifted enough to be part of Exeter's special research project. Intrigued, Meacham is picked up the next day at the airport by an unmanned, computer-controlled Douglas DC-3 aircraft with no windows. Landing in a remote area of Georgia, he finds an international group of top-flight scientists already present – including an old flame, Dr. Ruth Adams. Cal is almost immediately suspicious of the odd-looking group of men leading the project. Cal and Ruth flee with a third scientist, Steve Carlson (Johnson), but their car is attacked and Carlson is killed. When they take off in a small plane, Cal and Ruth watch as the facility and all its inhabitants are incinerated, and their plane is drawn by a bright beam into a flying saucer. They learn that Exeter and his group are from the planet Metaluna, having come to Earth seeking uranium deposits as well as scientists to help defend their planet in a war against the Zagons. Exeter informs the Earthlings that he is taking them back to his world. Exeter and the Metalunans are attacked by Zagon star ships, carrying meteors, to be used to destroy them and Metaluna. The Metalunan saucer easily avoids each attack, dodging the oncoming meteors. They arrive to find the planet under bombardment and falling quickly to the enemy. Metalunan society is breaking down and there is little hope. Their leader, The Monitor, reveals that the Metalunans intend to relocate to Earth and insists that Meacham and Adams be subjected to a Thought Transference Chamber in order to subjugate their free will so they cannot object. Exeter believes this is immoral and misguided since it impedes their ability to help the Metalunans. Before they can enter the brain-reprogramming device, Exeter decides to help Cal and Ruth escape. Exeter is badly injured by a Mutant while the three escape from Metaluna just before it is destroyed. The Mutant also boards the craft, but dies as a result of pressure differences on the journey back to Earth. As they enter Earth's atmosphere, Exeter sends Cal and Ruth on their way in their small plane, but he himself is dying and the ship's energy is nearly depleted. With no other options, Exeter flies out to sea and crashes. Cast *Jeff Morrow as Exeter *Faith Domergue as Ruth Adams *Rex Reason as Cal Meacham *Lance Fuller as Brack *Russell Johnson as Steve Carlson *Douglas Spencer as The Monitor *Robert Nichols as Joe Wilson *Karl L. Lindt as Dr. Adolph Engelborg *Robert Williams* as Webb *Coleman Francis* as Express delivery man *Charlotte Lander* as Metaluna woman at decompression chamber *Marc Hamilton* as Metaluna inhabitant *Regis Parton* as the Mutant *Orangey* as Neutron, the cat * Not credited on-screen. Reception This Island Earth was released in June 1955Warren, Bill. Keep Watching The Skies Vol I: 1950 - 1957, pgs. 228 – 234; 444, McFarland, 1982. ISBN 0-89950-032-3. and by the end of that year had accrued US$1,700,000 in distributors' domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals, making it the year's 74th biggest earner.Gebert, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards (listing of 'Box Office (Domestic Rentals)' for 1955, taken from Variety magazine), St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1996. ISBN 0-668-05308-9. "Rentals" refers to the distributor/studio's share of the box office gross, which, according to Gebert, is roughly half of the money generated by ticket sales. The New York Times review opined, "The technical effects of This Island Earth, Universal's first science-fiction excursion in color, are so superlatively bizarre and beautiful that some serious shortcomings can be excused, if not overlooked." "Whit" in Variety wrote "Special effects of the most realistic type rival the story and characterizations in capturing the interest in this exciting science-fiction chiller, one of the most imaginative, fantastic and conceived entries to date in the outer-space film field. " Since its original release, the critical response to the film has continued to be mostly positive. Bill Warren has written that the film was "the best and most significant science fiction movie of 1955…it remains a decent, competent example of any era's science fiction output.." In Phil Hardy's The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction the film was described as "a full-blooded space opera complete with interplanetary warfare and bug-eyed monsters…the film's space operatics are given a dreamlike quality and a moral dimension that makes the dramatic situation far more interesting."Hardy, Phil (editor). The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction, Aurum Press, 1984. Reprinted as The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction, Overlook Press, 1995, ISBN 0-87951-626-7 Danny Peary felt the film was "colorful, imaginative, gadget-laden sci-fi." Peary, Danny Guide for the Film Fanatic, Fireside Books, 1986, pg. 433. ISBN 0-671-61081-3 However, of the 14 reviews included in a Rotten Tomatoes survey of internet critics regarding the title, 28% reflect negative reactions. Greater Milwaukee Today described it as "An appalling film…" ''Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie'' This Island Earth is the film-within-the-film in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (or MST3K: The Movie). As in the television series, the fictional crew of the spaceship Satellite of Love are forced to watch the film as part of an "experiment"; while watching the film, the crew can be seen in silhouette at the bottom of the screen, mocking the action. The film also includes "host segments" (skits with the crew and Mad Scientists), including two scenes with the characters using an Interocitor. In order to maintain a 73-minute running time and to accommodate several "host segments", This Island Earth was edited down by about 20 minutes, removing numerous scenes, some important (like a sequence of the Zagon fleet attacking Metaluna). Consequentially, this makes MST3K: The Movie shorter than the original This Island Earth, or even the average, 90-minute "MST3K" episode. Scientific errors The film suffers from numerous scientific errors. The laboratory cat is called Neutron "because he's so positive" (the name should therefore have been Proton); the Earth is surrounded by a "heat barrier" which the Metalunan saucer must negotiate both when leaving and returning - although visually dramatic this has no scientific basis; a planet is referred to as having once been a comet; and another is transformed into a sun by meteorite bombardment. Other references * A brief homage to This Island Earth is seen in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). E.T. turns the TV on during a showing of the film, at the scene when Cal and Ruth are being abducted by the aliens and Cal says "They're pulling us up!" * In the film Explorers, "This Island Earth" is mentioned in a line of dialogue: "I just got this new tape of This Island Earth. It's got this great saucer landing...And it's got, no, it's got this big mutant, with this, like, two brains." A clip from This Island Earth is also seen on an onscreen TV; the clip contains the line "Our universe is vast - full of wonders. I'll explore..." - a reference to the frame film's space exploration plot.http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/e/explorers-script-transcript-ethan-hawke.html * The 1988 video game Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders contains key references to this movie, such as large-headed aliens disguised as humans, communications through interstellar teleconferencing, and an airplane pulled into a flying saucer. * Shock rock metal band GWAR`s 4th album, This Toilet Earth and its companion short form movie Skulhedface contain numerous references to this movie, including the title, an alien with an oversized brain posing as a human, and communication between aliens using an interstellar teleconference device. * New Jersey punk band The Misfits included a song tribute entitled This Island Earth on their 1997 album American Psycho. * Steve Hackett included a song called "Turn This Island Earth" which was inspired by the film on his 2011 album Beyond the Shrouded Horizon.The Evil Jam Interviews Steve Hackett *The alien Orbitron, the Man from Uranus, from the 1960s toy line "The Outer Space Men", also known as Colorform Aliens, is based on the Mutant. * On page 11 of chapter 3 in the graphic novel Watchmen, a poster advertising This Island Earth is seen in the foreground. * Weird Al Yankovic, a fan of both This Island Earth and Mystery Science Theater 3000, has featured the Interociter in both his film UHF and the music video for "Dare to be Stupid". * The Metaluna Mutant is one of the many alien monsters held captive at Area 52 in Looney Tunes: Back in Action. It was later one of the aliens released by Marvin the Martian so that it could stop the main characters from taking the "Queen of Diamonds" card. References External links * * * [http://thethunderchild.com/Movies/1955/ThisIslandEarth/ThisIslandEarthTOC.html This Island Earth Sourcebook at The Thunder Child] * [http://thethunderchild.com/Music/ReReleaseReviews/ThisIslandEarth.html This Island Earth soundtrack release by Monstrous Movie Music review] Category:1955 films Category:1950s science fiction films Category:American science fiction films Category:Films based on science fiction novels Category:Monster movies Category:Films featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes Category:Science fiction war films Category:Universal Monsters film series